


Of Strangers and Friends

by cywsaphyre



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-25
Updated: 2012-06-28
Packaged: 2017-11-08 12:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/443303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cywsaphyre/pseuds/cywsaphyre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Tony Stark crossed paths with Harry Potter and the last time that never really ended.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just a Pair of Green Eyes

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter or the Avengers...

-This will be very short compared to my other fics, even with six chapters in total, but I've always liked 5-and-1 fics so I've decided to do one just for fun (I've been doing quite a bit of those recently but I always have small plots running around in my head so I've finally decided to do something about them). It's unrelated to my other stories so just consider this as a sit-back-and-enjoy sort of thing.

-I will be posting a chapter of one of my other fics in a few days. Last exam in two days:)

Summary: Five times Tony Stark crossed paths with Harry Potter and the last time that never really ended.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1 – Just a Pair of Green Eyes

To be honest, the first time Tony met Harry – not that he knew it was Harry back then – all he remembered was a pair of brilliant green eyes, completely out of place in the godforsaken Afghanistan desert he had been struggling through for hours.

~1~1~

After burning the terrorists' weapons and destroying their camp, Tony had managed to peel off what remained of his suit following the agonizing crash-landing back to solid earth when his thrusters had failed.

Getting to his feet, he took one look around and promptly wondered if he had escaped his captors' clutches only to die of thirst out here. But he hadn't gotten so far, risked so much, lost so much, just to give up now, so he picked a random direction and started walking.

Stumbling every few steps, Tony tried to keep his breathing even and his paces steady. He was pretty sure someone somewhere had said that keeping a steady, if slow, speed would get him farther in the long run. Then again, that could just be something he remembered from that children's book; the Tortoise and the Hare.

He had to bite back some of the hysteria threatening to overwhelm him. He really was going crazy if he was thinking of kiddie stories now of all times.

Tony didn't know how much time had passed as he walked on, the sun beating down on him mercilessly, but he tried to catch a glimpse of anything that looked remotely like a village or a helicopter or even just a person, no matter how unlikely that would be here in the armpit of civilization. Surely the people sent out to look for him hadn't given up yet, had they? Rhodey, if no one else, would still be searching, wouldn't he?

But why would they be? A sly voice remarked at the back of his mind, either his conscience making itself known or the product of his exhausted mind. Possibly a bit of both. You're just Tony Stark, the egotistical bastard everyone puts up with because you're rich and they want what you can make.

The thought put a painfully empty feeling inside him and it brought back the words Yinsen had said to him during their captivity.

A man who had everything but nothing. Who would've thought such a paradox could exist?

His foot caught on a rock as he staggered along and he braced himself for the harsh impact of the ground. His arms were too tired to come up and catch himself and his legs seemed to have momentarily stopped working.

To his surprise, instead of falling flat on his face and, with the way his luck had been going lately, probably breaking his nose as well, he slumped against something soft and cool against his skin even in this weather. It took him a few moments to work out that there was a strong arm now supporting him and a hand pressed against his forehead. He couldn't help the hoarse relieved moan that slipped from his raw throat at the fresh respite its temperature gave him.

Everything after that was a haze of foggy images, and Tony was only aware of a bottle pressed to his lips before he started gulping down the cold liquid with greedy vigour. At least half the water he took in didn't actually make it down his throat as he choked and spluttered when he drank too fast but it still soothed the raging thirst from dying to just bearable.

"Who-" He barely managed to rasp out as he tried to squint past his blurry vision, but all he even thought he saw was a bright green gaze peering back down at him.

Like emeralds, his mind supplied unhelpfully.

The stranger didn't answer right away and a few seconds later, Tony felt a funny tingling sensation around him before he found himself floating in the air.

I have definitely lost my mind, Tony thought dimly as he began to move again while a cool breeze rushed over him. He couldn't help the contented sigh that escaped his lips.

"No one important," A soft tenor with a British accent reached his ears, startlingly kind and English after three months of death threats in multiple languages. "I was passing through when I saw you. Seemed rather impolite to leave you on your own in this state."

Tony managed to catch a touch of humour in the man's words but there was also genuine concern mingled with it, and that more than anything else allowed him to relax. A part of him had been terrified that it was another terrorist who wanted his skills, keeping him alive only to stick him in another cell, but a terrorist wouldn't particularly care about his well-being beyond not dying.

"I suppose you're the one who's had all those American military officers running around?" The voice mused. "Mr. Stark, I assume?"

So this stranger knew who he was. Even better; the man wouldn't suddenly change his mind about rescuing him if he was already helping now.

"I can pay you," He offered weakly, struggling to sit up while bobbing in the air. He was kind of disappointed that his mind was currently too muddled to question the whole flying thing in detail. "If you could just drop me off near one of the rescue teams, I'll make sure you're paid in full."

The man chuckled, sounding amused, but Tony thought he heard an undercurrent of annoyance mixed in as well. "Keep your money, Mr. Stark," The voice said. "If that had been my goal, I would've demanded a guarantee of payment first. Rest assured, I will get you back to your people safely."

Tony didn't reply; he couldn't. The darkness that had already been threatening to close in around him for a long hellish while now dragged him down so that he only saw snatches of sun and sand and blue sky. In his brief moments of awareness, he thought he heard the same voice talking but he could never make out what the person was saying.

He didn't even know when he finally sank down into a fitful sleep, but the next time he woke up, it was to a black ceiling, and for one heart-stopping moment, Tony could only recall the prison cell he had been in, locked away and fearing the next time his captors lost what little patience they had.

He shot bolt upright, ignoring the aches in his body and looking around wildly, lashing out when someone clutched at his shoulders. It was a long minute before he finally noticed who was shaking him, obviously trying to snap out of the last lingering pieces of his nightmares.

"Rhodey!" Tony gasped, stilling as best he could when he recognized the officer in front of him at last.

"Thank god," Rhodey muttered, releasing him as Tony tried to stop the trembles wracking his body. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Tony."

Tony didn't answer immediately, looking around and noting that he was in a helicopter. "How-"

Rhodey just shook his head, leaning back with a sort of forced calm. "You don't remember? We found you in the desert. You must've escaped somehow. Thought you were-" He stopped abruptly, a haunted look passing over his features for a moment before he continued. "Anyway, we're heading back to the States now."

Tony nodded distractedly, feeling like he had forgotten something but was still too on edge to really think about it. "I blew up the camp," He mumbled, the memories slowly trickling back. "Started walking. I-"

His brow furrowed as he tried to remember what had happened after his suit had dumped him in the middle of the desert. A flash of green came to the forefront of his mind.

"Where is he?" Tony asked stupidly, eyes flickering around the helicopter.

Understandably, Rhodey gave him an odd look. "Where's who?"

"Him-" Tony shook his head in frustration as he tried to put his confusion into words. "The guy who helped me."

Rhodey's expression became worried. "Tony, you were the only one there when we found you. There was no one else around."

Tony stiffened anxiously. That couldn't be right. Someone had helped him, had carried him across the desert.

Right?

He frowned again and tried to dredge up a face, but he couldn't recall anything substantial.

"It was probably just been a hallucination, Tony," Rhodey told him gently. "You were under the sun for a long while. Trust me, there wasn't anyone else there. We even looked around. If you managed to escape with someone or even bumped into someone along the way, there's no way they could've gotten far if you were separated."

Tony wanted to counter this statement – hallucination? Really? – but he had nothing to counter it with so he nodded and said nothing more, a wave of fatigue washing over him as his mind finally registered everything his body had gone through.

"Just do me one favour, Tony," Rhodey added, and Tony looked up in time to catch the overwhelming relief on his friend's face. "If you ever decide to take the fun-vee again, remember this and ride with me next time."

Tony managed a slightly hysterical laugh at this as the realization of safety finally hit home.

Neither of them said anything more as the helicopter carried them back to America, but Tony, exhausted but not quite able to sleep just yet, found his thoughts turning back to the green eyes. He remembered the stranger's voice but couldn't quite recall what he had said. He knew it hadn't been a figment of his imagination because there was no way he could still be alive without the man's help.

Proof or no, Tony knew he owed his life to someone out there.

~1~

Hours later, after two cheeseburgers and his public announcement to shut down the weapons manufacturing division of his company and in the privacy of his lab, Tony would wonder if he would ever see the green-eyed stranger again.

He had no way of knowing just how large an impact on his life said stranger would make.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First chapter done! Like I said, this is a smaller fic overall so the scenes won't go into too much detail.


	2. Misunderstanding on a Bastard Level

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter or the Avengers...

-Glad people liked the first chapter! Next one takes place during Iron Man 2 timeline.

-And no slash; like the genre says, it's just going to be a friendship between the two.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2 – Misunderstanding on a Bastard Level

It was several months, almost a year, after Obadiah's subsequent betrayal and a few admittedly reckless – not dangerous, damn it – activities all leading up to the disaster that was his birthday before Tony saw Harry again. The second meeting, in terms of success, hadn't been much better than the first, except that Tony finally got a confirmation that the stranger who had helped him hadn't just been a hallucination, and he had found a name and a face to go with the green eyes in his memory.

~2~2~

Munching on a donut, Tony supposed eating in the giant donut on top of the restaurant wasn't the smartest idea he had ever had, but after the night he had gone through, he really couldn't care less how much trouble he was in. Compared to the clusterfuck his birthday had been, this was nothing.

And yeah, he might still be a bit hungover from last night. His vocabulary couldn't be expected to be in top condition.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to exit the donut," A voice called from below.

Tony peered down and mentally groaned. Just what he needed; Fury the I-wouldn't-know-a-sense-of-humor-if-it-bit-me Pirate.

With a sigh, he finished off his donut and half-leapt, half-staggered off the top of the building and into the diner.

"I told you I don't want to join your super secret boy-band," Tony muttered as he tried to suppress the pounding in his head. He didn't even have the energy to scowl when Fury laughed, a mocking edge in his tone.

"No no no, see? I remember, you do everything yourself. How's that working out for ya?"

"It- It's..." God, why was he even trying to answer this asshole? Peering over his sunglasses, Tony released his quip of the day, quite honestly already detesting the calm superior look Fury had on his face. "I'm sorry, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot. Do I look at the patch or the eye? Honestly, I'm a bit hungover. I'm not sure if you're real or... or if I'm having deliriu-"

"I am very real," Fury cut him off, leaning forward with no trace of a smirk anymore. Tony wasn't sure if it was an improvement or not. "I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."

"Just my luck," Tony grounded out, his annoyance rising another degree. He opted to look around the diner instead, frowning at the lack of people. "Where's the staff here?"

He instantly tensed when Fury reached over and pulled down his collar, no doubt looking at the poison spreading up his neck.

"That's not looking so good," The Director observed.

No shit, Tony had to suppress a snort. "It's been worse," He mumbled into his drink instead.

Footsteps reached his ears and stilled when he heard the woman's voice.

"We've secured the perimeter but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer," His company's recently promoted secretary said.

"Huh," Tony stared hard at the redhead, already feeling a mix of dislike and resentment welling up inside him as he realized he had been watched even in the privacy of his own property. "You're... fired."

"That's not up to you," The woman – he rather doubted her real name was Natalie Rushman – countered coolly before taking a seat beside her boss.

"Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanov," Fury introduced.

Tony just heaved another sigh as he took off his sunglasses. "Hi," He returned flatly.

"I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. shadow," Romanov said crisply, glancing at Fury. "Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury."

"I suggest you apologize," Tony retorted, pinning her with as accusing a stare as he could manage. The redhead didn't even blink and Tony was forced to endure another sermon as Fury started up again.

"You've been very busy; you've made your girl your CEO, you've given away all your stuff, you let your friend fly away with your suit. Now, if I didn't know better-"

"You don't know better," Tony interrupted, trying not to let his irritation show. "I didn't give it to him; he took it."

"Whoa whoa whoa," The mockery was almost palpable around the Director and it was all Tony could do not to punch him in the face. "He took it? You're Iron Man and he just took it?"

Tony tuned out the rest of the ridicule Fury obviously felt needed to be dished out and scoffed feebly when Romanov recited his own security guidelines to him.

"What do you want from me?" Tony asked, tired and feeling completely out of his depth for once as the Director laid bare all his mistakes.

"Want from you?" Fury repeated before shaking his head. "Uh-uh, what do you want from me? You have become a problem; a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the centre of my universe! I have bigger problems than you in the Southwest region to deal with!"

Trying to fend off a building migraine as Fury ranted, Tony didn't even see it coming.

"Ow!" He flinched when a needle stabbed into the side of his neck. "God, you're gonna steal my kidney and sell it?"

It took him a moment to focus again and he looked up to find another man, dressed in simple jeans and a grey sweater, now peering down at him from behind a pair of dark sunglasses. He looked to be in his mid-twenties at most.

"Would you people please not do anything horrible for five seconds?" He demanded in an almost-whine as Romanov reached across the table to twist his head to the side. "And who the hell are you? Another agent?"

"That's Potter," Fury informed him shortly as the man in question said nothing, packing away the needle with quick efficiency. "He's our freelance consultant."

"Well what did he just do to me?" Tony questioned testily when Romanov let go. He could feel the poison easing and almost sighed in relief. Almost.

"What did he just do for you," Fury corrected, leveling an impatient gaze on him. "That's Lithium Dioxide. It's gonna take the edge off; we're trying to get you back to work."

"Well give me a couple boxes of that and I'll be right as rain," Tony suggested as his eyes flickered to the case Potter was holding.

"It's not a cure, it just abates the symptoms," Romanov told him.

"Doesn't look like it's gonna be an easy fix," Fury said, still scrutinizing Tony's neck. Of the three, Potter was the only one not studying him like he was some sort of guinea pig and Tony found himself inexplicably grateful as he let his ire at the other two known.

"Trust me, I know, I'm good at this stuff," He snapped. "I have tried every combination, every permutation of every known element."

"Well I'm here to tell you," There was a hint of a smirk behind the serious expression Fury was wearing. "You haven't tried them all."

Tony barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping and it took a moment before he could shoot back, "And I suppose you're suddenly the expert on arc technology now?"

Fury released a long-suffering sigh. "Stark, as hard as it is for your ego to hear this, I have to tell you that you're not the only genius out there. Did you learn nothing when Vanko kicked your ass?"

Tony gritted his teeth. "I think if you dig at your memory a little, you'll remember it was the other way around."

"And," Fury barreled on relentlessly as if Tony hadn't spoken. "Vanko managed to build his own arc technology that gave you a run for your money. If he had better material to work with, he might've even trumped your suit, so really, Tony, your work might as well be garbage."

Tony's hands curled into fists at the deliberate taunt. He had spent months on the technology that now kept him alive, worked his ass off to develop the suit. He didn't particularly care if Fury insulted him; Tony was used to that, but the man had no right to insult his work.

Before he could lash out – with words or fists, he wasn't sure – another voice cut in, one so familiar yet completely foreign that Tony almost forgot what he was angry about.

"What Director Fury is trying to say around his general bastardness is that he has something else for you to work with," The smooth British voice cut in, diffusing the tense situation as easily as water extinguished fire. "I believe he is trying to get you worked up so you would have more of an incentive to prove him wrong once he hands over whatever he's got stored away."

There was a stilted silence followed by twin annoyed glares from both Fury and Romanov.

"Potter, you really have to learn how to keep your mouth shut," Fury snapped.

Potter shrugged indifferently as Tony tried to learn x-ray vision and look through the sunglasses.

"You're not my boss," Potter countered mildly. "And this conversation would go a lot faster if the insult-trading wasn't included. I need hardly remind you that the safety measures I've placed around this place are temporary and there's going to be an unfortunate pile-up outside if those cars continue 'missing' the drive-thru."

Fury grunted but turned back to Tony who was still trying to get a glimpse of the agent's, consultant's, eyes.

"Alright, Stark, I'm gonna show you something that'll make you a believer," Fury announced as he rose to his feet, Romanov beside him.

Tony barely heard him, sliding out of the booth as he wondered if his mind was playing tricks with him. He knew that voice. From Afghanistan. Did that mean S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent Potter to retrieve him? If so, why hadn't they done it sooner? Surely it couldn't just be a coincidence that Potter happened to be in the middle of the desert right when he was about to collapse?

~2~

"So what exactly does Fury mean when he says you're their 'freelance consultant'?" Tony asked as he started spreading out his father's work on his desk.

Once Fury had made it quite clear that Tony wasn't supposed to have any outside contact and was pretty much a prisoner in his own home until he found what it was Fury wanted him to find, Coulson had trotted off to no doubt whip up more forms of torture to threaten Tony with, Romanov had departed with a muttered 'I don't know how you'll manage to put up with him' to Potter, while Potter himself had made himself comfortable in one of the chairs in Tony's lab, apparently his appointed supervisor for the next few weeks.

Potter peered up from the book he was reading. He was still wearing those damn sunglasses. "It means I'm consulted on freelance jobs," He deadpanned, startling an amused snort from Tony.

"But you said he's not your boss," Tony pointed out as he pulled out a tape. "Yet you were working for him earlier. Sort of. So basically, Fury pretends to order you around and you pretend to take his orders and everyone's happy."

Potter chuckled, idly turning the book in his hands. "Pretty much."

"So what about this guard dog job?" Tony waved a hand around him. "I can't imagine this to be anyone's ideal occupation."

"I volunteered," Potter said, most of his attention returning to his book again. "Otherwise, Natasha would've had to stay and she's already done a brilliant job at not strangling you like she's been threatening to do ever since Fury assigned her here."

"So that's her name," Tony shrugged. "Don't know why she would want to. I was a perfect gentleman when she was around."

"Of course," Potter agreed amicably. "That's why she always referred to you as 'that arrogant bastard' when she reported in."

"I'm hurt," Tony snickered. He could imagine the look on the female agent's face; it was a fairly entertaining expression. "What about you? I don't think I caught your name."

There was a pause and Tony had to force himself to pretend to be completely immersed in digging through his father's work instead of looking up.

"Harry," Potter said abruptly and Tony allowed himself to glance over at the Brit. "Harry Potter."

"Harry," Tony repeated, and then tried the direct route. "Mind taking off those shades?"

Another moment of silence passed as Harry studied him. Tony had the feeling that he had surprised him.

"Why?" Harry enquired.

Tony glanced around pointedly. "We're inside. They're not really necessary, are they?"

"No," Harry agreed. "But I'm used to wearing them. It's the only part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform they gave me that I like and actually wear."

Tony was about to press again, persist until Harry gave in – because getting his way was something he did best – but the consultant solved the problem for him when he reached up and removed the sunglasses.

Green eyes stared back at him, curious but not hostile as Tony gawked at him.

For Tony, a part of him hadn't truly believed that Harry was the same person who had saved him in Afghanistan but there was no mistaking those eyes. He had never seen anyone else with that unique eye colour. Not even Agent Romanov's eyes were the same.

"You were the one who saved me," He blurted out, watching those green eyes widen before any expression was wiped off the man's face.

A rush of anger welled up inside him before squashed it and turned back to his work, making sure to keep his voice light as he spoke again. "So I guess S.H.I.E.L.D. needed me back once I had developed my suit, huh? You must've kept a close eye on the terrorist camp if you knew where to meet me."

"...It wasn't quite like that," Harry said eventually.

Tony didn't wait for an explanation. God, those terrorists had tortured him and S.H.I.E.L.D. had evidently decided that, well, since Tony's working on something we can exploit the hell out of, let's leave him there until he's finished!

Without another word, he gathered the box containing his father's work and settled in the farthest corner of the lab, making it clear that he no longer wanted to talk. It was a long minute before he heard the consultant get to his feet and exit his lab.

~2~

"What the hell did you do now, Stark?"

Tony barely glanced up as Natasha stormed up to him, her irritation plain to even a deaf, dumb, and blind person. "I'm sorry, Agent, but as you can see, I'm working on-"

He was cut off as the woman hauled his entire chair backwards, with him still in it. Biting back a startled yelp, he looked up to find a frigid glare directed down at him.

"Cut the crap, Stark," Natasha snapped. "You haven't been working at all. Harry's just reported back to headquarters and told us that you won't work with him anywhere near the lab. And because of whatever childish grudge you seem to have against him, I'm back on babysitting duty. Explain."

Tony didn't reply right away, remaining stubbornly silent as he thought back to the last few days. Admittedly, he had perhaps been slightly... immature in regards to his behavior to Harry, but come on! He had the right to give the Brit the cold shoulder after learning that he hadn't done anything to help Tony until he had practically died in the middle of the desert.

"You people were watching me," He finally said, the words coming out more accusing than he had meant them to. "When I was captured by Ten Rings. You could've broken me out anytime, but no! Let's leave Tony there because what he's building is just too important to the future security of America so he doesn't get a rescue until he's finished!"

He was vindictively pleased at the slapped look on Natasha's face as she backed away a step and he took the opportunity to drag his chair back to his work station. "Now if you don't mind, Agent Romanov, I'd like some peace and quiet. I suppose you can stick around, but-"

"You really are nothing but a self-centered jerk after all," Natasha cut him off. Her voice was rock steady and quiet but there was an undercurrent of anger that made Tony stiffen warily.

"Did you ask him why he was there?" The redhead continued. "If S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to get you out of there after you had completed your work on the suit, we would've just sent your coordinates to the nearest search-and-rescue team. It would be a waste of time sending someone out there."

Tony blinked and recalled the handful of times Harry had tried to catch him when he had to leave the lab for food but he had – childishly – brushed him off.

"So you didn't," Natasha said flatly, obviously picking up the discomfort in his expression. "Big surprise," She pulled up a chair and sat down a few feet away, arms crossed. She seemed to consider something for a moment before coming to a decision. "Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once, and if you ever repeat it to anyone else, I'll personally castrate you."

Tony eyed her carefully but nodded stiffly when it was clear she wanted an actual confirmation.

Natasha frowned suspiciously at him before continuing. "Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D. did know where you were. We make it a point to know where everyone of interest is. We found out about what you were up to through a spy in Ten Rings' ranks – whom you killed, by the way – and since you weren't being brutally tortured every other day, the decision was made to leave you there until you finished. You have to understand, Stark, that arc technology isn't something everyone knows about, much less be able to study and expand on it."

"So you chose to leave me in the hands of world-dominating psychos in exchange for technology that I'm never gonna hand over anyway," Tony interrupted. "Well, it certainly explains your willingness to lock me up in my own home and give Coulson free reign to, what was it? Oh yeah, tase me and watch Supernanny while I drool into the carpet. What does this have to do with sending Harry? Or not sending him, as you seem to be implying."

Natasha shot him an irritated look but hurried on, obviously not wanting to get into another argument. "We didn't send anyone," She said flatly. "After you blew up the Ten Rings camp, we lost all communication. Even the video feed our spy managed to install was taken out. But you managed to finish the suit. We thought it would be easy for you to fly to safety from that point on."

She paused, and for the first time since Tony had met her, she actually looked uncomfortable.

"Shortly before you broke out," She slowly revealed. "Harry returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Before that, he was in Russia on a six-month-long infiltration, and trust me, those are killer missions. Literally. I'm actually Russian, and I think that. It only took about five seconds of watching the news to find out you had been missing for three months and he immediately wanted to know why we hadn't gotten you out yet. He knows our capabilities and he knew we were keeping tabs on the CEO of the number one weapons manufacturing company in the States. When we- Fury explained why you were still in Afghanistan, well," She grimaced. "It wasn't pretty. Those two had a shouting match that had everyone running for their lives. When Fury refused to send an immediate retrieval team, Harry took off on his own.

"He told you, didn't he? That he doesn't work for Fury?" This time, Natasha actually offered a genuine if slightly amused smile at the stricken look Tony was probably wearing. "The Director tried, of course; negotiations, bribes, blackmail, threats of bodily harm, but nothing worked and he eventually gave up and just asked if Harry would be willing to work with S.H.I.E.L.D. part-time, as a... freelance consultant. But Fury does not control Harry, which was why no one could stop him when he went after you. Harry has... an ability to find practically anyone without hacking into computer mainframes and the like and he found you pretty quickly. That's why he was there in the desert after you escaped. He was the only one out of all the people who knew where you were who came after you. Even I voted against bringing you home early, not that any of us actually have a say in the final decision-making. That's the Director's department."

Explanation finished, Natasha uncrossed her arms and rose to her feet, smiling grimly at Tony. "So, congratulations, you managed to chase off the only person connected to S.H.I.E.L.D. who gives even half a damn about you. Well, I suppose you wouldn't be Tony Stark if you did anything by half."

With a wave over her shoulder as she turned, the female agent headed for the door of the lab. "Now, since it seems I'm stuck looking after Your Royal Bastardness again, I'll be upstairs making myself comfortable. Don't even look at me unless it's a life-or-death situation, and even then, make sure it's not your life we're talking about."

Tony sat frozen to his seat as Natasha made her way to the door but managed to gather enough brain cells to lurch out of his seat and call after her before she left. "Wait; where's Harry now? Just send him back here. I'll- I'll apologize."

Natasha scoffed, scowling at him. "Too late for that, Stark. Harry's in New Mexico. Something came up and Fury's asked him to head down there to check it out. Coulson will be leaving as well in a few days. I'll be stuck with you until this whole fiasco blows over." She stopped at the doorway and sent him another vicious glare. "Harry can be infuriating, especially when it comes to Fury and his orders because he never obeys them. He's too blunt and he doesn't care if he undermines the Director's plans if it helps the individual; he hates manipulations more than anyone else I know. But he's also a colleague and a friend and I've been on enough missions with him to know that he's a good man. He's also saved my life a couple times and you should know that you have him to thank for not being flat on your ass at the moment. If I had my way, your palladium poisoning would be the least of your problems right now."

And without another word, she stalked out of the lab, leaving a guilt-ridden Tony in her wake.

"Well sir," Jarvis spoke up in the resulting silence. "I did advise you to listen."

"Yeah, yeah," Tony muttered, leaning his head back as he closed his eyes in frustration. "I'm hearing the 'I told you so' loud and clear."

With a mental curse, he sat up again and started flipping through some files with half-hearted vigor.

Damn. On top of feeling like the biggest ass on the planet, he couldn't even fix his mistake now that Harry wasn't even in the same state.

With a self-deprecating sigh, Tony made a mental note to keep tabs on Coulson. Harry was a freelance so he could be anywhere at any given time. Coulson at least had to personally report in to S.H.I.E.L.D. sometime. He could wrangle a meeting with Harry out of the Agent then.

In the meantime, he could think up a good groveling speech to give once he saw the consultant again. All things considered, it was the least he could.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter two finished! Second meeting was a bit longer than the first. Hope Natasha was okay.


	3. A Most Interesting Rendezvous

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter or the Avengers...

-This chapter takes place during the Avengers movie. Enjoy!

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3 – A Most Interesting Rendezvous

The third time Tony met Harry had been a lot better than the first two times, mostly because he fully remembered the encounter and because there were no monumental screw-ups on his part.

Of course, he had also been somewhat annoyed when this next chance meeting had taken place amongst the entire ragtag team of Avengers, and between Natasha, who had been even more of a bitch than usual since Clint's mental abduction and had stuck to Harry as much as possible without making it obvious, and Steve, who had seemed to be unnaturally good friends with Harry considering the fact that he had been the Amazing Capsicle not two weeks prior to Fury's boy-band gathering, Tony had barely managed to get a word in edgewise. He definitely hadn't been able to get Harry alone for more than a couple of minutes, but they had been in the middle of a crisis so he supposed it was the best he had been able to get.

~3~3~

Tony couldn't help but scowl as Steve dragged Harry off again, chattering away like some high school girl about something or other that made Harry laugh.

Ever since he had stepped onboard the Helicarrier, Harry had ignored him. Well okay, not ignored him, exactly – or at all, if he was honest – but the consultant had been frustratingly distant and disgustingly polite whenever they happened to be in the same room together and were forced to communicate, as if he was afraid of setting Tony off when all Tony wanted to do was apologize. Harry even talked to Thor more often and Tony could attest to the fact that the guy was mostly just muscle (that might be a bit unfair but he was more than a little annoyed at the way everyone seemed to talk to Harry like they all knew him. Like old friends. Even Bruce seemed more relaxed around Harry than he did other people.).

"You're sulking again," Natasha said from behind him and Tony didn't have to turn to know that there was a sneer on her face. The female agent's hatred of his guts seemed to have risen to new heights since the last time he had seen her. Granted, they hadn't exactly parted on good terms, but really, whatever happened to forgive and forget?

"Agent Romanov," Tony plastered a smile on his face even though it was about the last thing he wanted to be doing. "Have I mentioned how much more beautiful you could be if you didn't have that constant frown on your face like someone's recently shot your puppy? I'm just saying, I mean have you ever even tried starting the day with a smile? It's supposed to be good for your skin too. Less wrinkles later on in life, though I hate to say that it might be too late for you since your expression seems to be permanently stuck that way."

Natasha just shot him a withering look and stalked away, obviously not in the mood to trade insults today. Tony shrugged and went back to staring sullenly at the two people off to the side.

Apparently, Harry was still just a 'freelance consultant' and wasn't an actual member of the Avengers but that didn't stop Fury from dishing out orders to said consultant as well. Luckily, Harry had agreed with the order – Don't let them slaughter each other, Potter. Short of killing them, you have my explicit permission to stop any and all fights in any way you want. – and had so far prevented and broken up several arguments between Tony and Steve with admirable ease – the Captain, more often than not, deferred to Harry without protest. Hating that Harry always seemed quite pleased when Steve kept his temper and didn't bait Tony, Tony tried all the harder to keep his temper and his sarcasm to himself.

It wasn't easy, of course. He hated the disapproving frowns the Capsicle occasionally shot him when Harry's back was turned, clearly thinking that Tony shouldn't even be there. In return, Tony ticked him off with caustic remarks and flippant jokes, delighting in the rising irritation on the man's face.

Then there would be moments in between their silent war that Tony would catch Harry staring between the two of them and he knew the consultant wasn't as oblivious as he pretended to be. But it looked like Harry wouldn't intervene unless their fights actually started getting out of hand so Tony continued taunting Steve and vice versa.

"Stark, I pay you to work, not sit around daydreaming," Fury's voice said from the door.

"Who said I wasn't working?" Tony countered automatically without missing a beat, his phone materialising in his hand as he used his body to hide the sleight of hand. "I'm calculating the frequency needed to displace certain gamma-rays that the cube's energy is dispersing."

He glanced up in time to catch Bruce's amused expression and knew he hadn't fooled the scientist.

"Just concentrate on your work," Fury said irritably. "Potter, a word."

Harry arched an eyebrow and Fury tacked on with frustrated curtness, "Please."

Tony bit back a snicker as Harry calmly rose to his feet and headed out after the Director. Damn, why couldn't he do that? Technically, before this whole Loki fiasco, he had been a consultant too, hadn't he?

Without Harry to occupy his time, Steve also got up, nodding at Bruce and ignoring Tony before he vacated the lab as well.

"So what's got you so worked up?"

Tony turned his attention back to Bruce, a deliberately confused expression on his face.

"You've been glaring holes at the Captain and Harry all day," Bruce clarified. "What did they do to you?"

Tony straightened in his seat indignantly. "I haven't been glaring at them!" He protested. Then he stopped to think about it before amending, "Well I've been glaring at the Capsicle but he's fair game since he's been glaring at me too, but I don't have anything against Harry."

Bruce took on a thoughtful expression as he fiddled with something on the computer screen. "Oh? My mistake then. I guess it's because they've been standing together," He paused, and then added, "You should probably clear that up with Harry too. He probably thinks you're mad at him as well."

Tony opened his mouth to refute this and then closed it again. That… might actually be true. Actually, that was definitely true even if Tony hadn't been taunting Steve all day. What else would the consultant think after Tony had all but kicked him out of his house all those months ago?

"Right," Tony sighed, scooting his chair over to one of the computers. "I'll catch him later and explain. By the way," He craned his head to look at the scientist when a thought struck him. "Do you know when those two became best pals? Seriously, you'd think Rogers had never been frozen and those two grew up together or something. They're always talking about one thing or another."

Bruce stopped what he was doing, actually turning to stare at Tony with a mix of puzzlement and disbelief. "Well of course they do. They've got a lot of lost time to make up, don't they?"

Tony stared back, completely lost. "What are you talking about?"

Bruce pushed the screen away and turned to fully face Tony. "You really don't know? About Harry?"

"What about Harry?" Tony snapped irritably. There was obviously some big secret about the consultant that everyone seemed to know except him and that didn't happen often. Or at all, really.

Bruce chuckled, his expression turning amused now. "Well that would explain it," He muttered, before revealing quietly, "Harry's immortal, Mr. Stark. He's been around for a long time."

Tony gaped, his mind trying to wrap around this new piece of information. He knew Thor was a demi-god and was probably at least several hundred years old, but Thor was from a different planet and Harry was…

"So he's like Thor?" Tony asked. "He's a demi-god too?"

Bruce shrugged. "Thor says he isn't, that he's just human, but nobody really knows what he is or where he comes from or even when he first showed up. The only person who might know is the Director and he's not talking," The amusement returned as the scientist added, "Why do you think Director Fury respects him more than anyone else? Harry knows things about war, about tactics, that the Director knows are invaluable. Besides, Harry's looked his current age since the 1930s; that's why Steve knows him. Those two fought together in the Second World War. Harry's the only friend the Captain has here and it probably helps that he has a familiar face to help him get used to this time. And from what Natasha mentioned when she and Harry came to fetch me, Harry's known her for quite a while too. Her and Agent Barton."

Tony blinked, some of the shock fading as he thought everything through. "That's… just a bit creepy," He muttered. "What about Thor?"

Bruce frowned. "From what I hear-"

"Where do you hear all this anyway?" Tony interrupted, feeling indignant again. "How come I seem to be the last one to know? Do you have to be a full member of the Avengers or something before you're given this information?"

Bruce's frown deepened. "No, not that I know of. It's not a particularly big secret. I mean, don't go splashing it across front page news or start talking about it to the public – not that they would believe you anyway – but I guess you just know when Harry tells you."

"Harry tells-" Tony cut himself off as his mind flashed back to the unfortunate misunderstanding at his house. "Oh." He looked down at his phone and flipped it over a couple times just for something to do. "…You told me."

"Well yeah," Bruce waved a dismissive hand. "Like I said, it's not a big secret and you'll find out eventually now that we're all working together. Besides, if Harry doesn't want someone to know, it's not that hard for him to make people… forget."

"Forget?" Tony's head snapped up again. "Is he-"

"No no no!" Bruce assured hastily. "He won't mind you knowing or he would've told us not to say anything already. What I mean is if one of us slips up in front of a civilian or something and they just happen to believe, Harry can make them, well, not believe, or just forget entirely."

"…I see," Tony slowly relaxed. "What about Thor then?"

"Uh, he found out about a year ago? Something like that. I don't know the details."

"And you?"

Bruce glanced at him before focusing on the computer screen. It was a long minute before he spoke again.

"…Harry's the only one the other guy can be around without worrying about causing any damage," The scientist finally divulged. "And I don't just mean he can't die. He can make invisible shields strong enough to contain me when I lose control and," He looked momentarily confused. "He's got a few things to calm the other guy down. Calls them Calming Draughts and Sleeping Spells and a few others. The Draughts I can carry around with me; so long as I only take them in a real emergency, they won't eventually stop working or anything, not to mention they seem to give me better control over the other guy as well. Harry traveled with me for a little while a few years back but he does have to work so he just drops by now and then to chat nowadays."

"To chat," Tony repeated faintly before blowing out a heavy sigh. "Wow, that wasn't what I was expecting. About Harry I mean, not the whole losing control thing, which, I gotta say, I have nothing against-"

"I get it, Mr. Stark," Bruce said dryly.

"Right," Tony fell silent again, mulling everything over before glancing at the door. "What's Fury getting him to do now, then?"

"Hmm, patrolling the perimeter maybe? Harry's got something to forewarn him about any danger."

"Harry seems to be able to do a lot of things," Tony remarked.

Bruce nodded in a practical manner. "He can, which is another reason the Director doesn't want him as an enemy and works around him instead of bulldozing him down like he does everyone else."

"Huh," Tony scoffed. "So just because the rest of us aren't all-powerful, Fury decides he can walk all over us."

"Oh he can be a lot worse," Bruce said almost cheerfully. "Harry's a good influence on him. You should've seen him when he first started hunting me. Wouldn't stop no matter what I said until Harry knocked him down a few pegs. Honestly, it was a lot of fun to watch."

"I bet," Tony could almost imagine it and he'd give half his fortune to actually see it.

"That was also when the Director started trying to recruit Harry," The scientist added. "Not that it worked, obviously. Anyway, there you go; a condensed biography on Harry Potter," Bruce looked at him meaningfully. "So what about you? How did you meet Harry?"

Tony frowned, grimacing as he concentrated on the information on the computer screen. "He saved my life," He mumbled.

To his surprise, Bruce laughed. At his questioning look, the scientist clarified, "That's a given, isn't it? Harry does that. Saves people. He does that a lot."

Tony wasn't sure if that statement was supposed to make him feel as bad as it did.

~3~

It was fortunate that Harry had given Bruce the miracle drink because Tony was fairly certain that the charged atmosphere of the lab wasn't doing the scientist any favours.

It was not so fortunate that Tony had finally been driven past the point of seeing reason because he was now standing a mere foot away from the American Capsicle and trying not to plant a fist in the man's face.

"Gentlemen, perhaps we could save the entire caveman scene for later," Harry interrupted from the doorway, somehow sounding patient and fed up at the same time. "We've got bigger problems right now."

All heads turned to look at the consultant who raised an idle hand to gesture around them even as he stepped aside. "We've got company. If you're all finished being kids, I suggest evacuating the room," The smile he was wearing hinted at mockery. "Don't push; single file."

When they all just stared at him, Harry rolled his eyes and snapped, "Get out of there. A bomb just breached my wards at Engine Three. One of Clint's, no doubt. Hurry up!"

That got them moving and Tony just managed to vacate the lab before the world simply exploded behind him. The force of the blast shook the entire aircraft and knocked them all clean off the room.

"Shit, the staff!" Bruce was scowling fiercely as he staggered to his feet. Tony rolled his eyes as almost everyone around him released a sigh of relief at the still relatively calm expression on the scientist's face.

"Leave it," Harry said, clutching at the half-destroyed doorway and peering into the now-bottomless lab. "We won't be able to find it in time anyway. Director?"

Fury had been firing off orders into his earpiece, but at Harry's silent reminder, the man looked up and barked, "Well what are you waiting for? Make yourselves useful! Rogers, Stark, Engine Three. The rest of you spread out and either prevent Loki from escaping or take down the intruders. Move!"

They split, Tony hesitating only long enough to glance at Harry who was heading in the containment room's direction. They may have shared only a handful of words ever since they had gotten onto the Helicarrier but Tony had no desire to see the man injured, immortal or no.

"Stark! You need to put on your suit!" Steve called from somewhere up ahead.

Tony grimaced and raced after the Captain. "Yeah, I'll meet you at Engine Three!"

As another explosion echoed in the distance, Tony really hoped everyone got out of this alive.

~3~

"What happened?" Tony demanded as he stormed into the medical ward, Steve a few steps behind him.

It was Bruce who explained, looking tense but drained. "Loki got past Thor and managed to injure Agent Coulson. He's in surgery right now."

Tony's gaze darted to the doors the entire team was stationed opposite to. "How?" He asked, struggling to keep his voice even. "Coulson can pull a gun out of the air even after you've stripped him."

"Loki caught him off guard," Natasha said, for once not sounding like she wanted to stab him or something. "Illusions and teleportation from what Thor said. And he already had his staff back. Stabbed Coulson straight through the chest."

Tony stared. "Not that I'm not glad he's not dead, but how the hell is he not dead?"

"Harry," Bruce took over again as if that one word explained everything.

Come to think of it, Tony supposed it actually did.

"Harry arrived in time to start healing Agent Coulson," Thor revealed. The demi-god's expression was a strange blend of worry and regret. "He also caused Loki to retreat even though his magic fluctuates when dealing with Loki's magic. Harry was... livid."

Tony paused at the last word, inflected with an odd note of reminiscent apprehension. If Harry had been angry enough to scare even a demi-god like Thor when said anger hadn't even been aimed at him, Tony would have to remember to thank the consultant for directing it all at Loki.

"Where's Harrry now?" He asked when another scan of the sick bay told him that the consultant wasn't there.

Bruce nodded at the doors leading to the surgery room. "The doctors needed Harry to keep Agent Coulson stabilized while they worked on him," He hesitated, and then shook his head. "I don't envy Loki. When Harry gets his hands on him-"

"I have always known Harry to be a fair man," Thor said forcefully, but there was a hint of uncertainty swimming under his conviction. "If Loki is captured, he will... consider releasing him into my custody to face Asgardian justice."

"Don't hold your breath," Natasha retorted tersely. "Coulson's a good friend of Harry's. He's forgiving; sometimes too forgiving, but this will take a while."

The fact that Thor didn't say anything in return told Tony just how pissed Harry was better than any words could have.

The light above the doors suddenly blinked off and Harry himself stepped out a moment later.

Forgetting that Harry was probably still annoyed with him, Tony straightened, trying to get a glimpse through the closing doors. "Is Coulson okay?" Catching the amazement on everyone's face, he tacked on, "Pepper likes him. I really don't wanna be the bearer of bad news."

With the exception of Bruce who only raised a skeptical eyebrow, the others turned away, shaking their heads. Satisfied, Tony turned back to Harry, only to find a knowing look directed at him for a split second before it was hidden away again.

"He'll be fine," Harry said instead, running a hand through his hair in a tired motion. "He'll need a lot of rest but the doctors have patched him up and I've sped up the healing process so he should be back on his feet by the end of the week."

Sighs of relief came from all around and Tony had to work to not show his.

"I need some air," Harry said abruptly, and it was only after another look that Tony realized the consultant's dark shirt had an even darker patch running down the front.

"Harry!" He automatically reached for him but Harry evaded his hand smoothly and headed for the entrance.

Without waiting for anyone else to say anything, the consultant ducked out of the medical ward, and Tony got the impression that he was running away.

"As far as I know, he can't die," Bruce's voice sounded from behind him, a low murmur for Tony's ears alone. "So you can understand why the prospect of other people dying, especially the people he cares about, can scare him like nothing else."

Tony lingered in place for a few seconds longer, mulling the words over. And then he made up his mind and headed out after the consultant.

~3~

"Thanks for saving him," Tony said as he finally managed to track Harry to one of the small balconies attached to the aircraft.

Harry didn't jump, confirming the billionaire's early guess that the consultant would know he was coming. The man was wearing a different shirt but Tony could almost smell the tang of dried blood still clinging to the air around him.

"...He was my friend too," Harry replied as Tony stepped up to the railing beside him.

Tony nodded but said nothing more as he tried to remember the speech he had come up with a few months back but the words seemed to have escaped his brain and he ended up standing in an uncomfortable silence with Harry instead.

"Something wrong, Mr. Stark?" Harry finally broke the silence, tilting his head so Tony found himself pinned in place by the man's sharp green gaze.

His jaw worked for a moment before blurting out, "I'm sorry," He faltered a little at the mild surprise on Harry's face before hurrying on. "About what I said back at my house. I should've found out the truth before accusing you."

Harry scrutinized him for a long moment before offering a half-shrug. "You weren't entirely wrong. S.H.I.E.L.D. can be quite... heartless on the best of days."

"Yeah, but you're not S.H.I.E.L.D.," Tony pointed out, relieved that his words now came more easily. "And you didn't even know about my abduction until you came back to the States."

Harry looked curious now. "How did you know that? I can't imagine Fury sitting you down to explain everything to you."

"He didn't," Tony snorted. "Agent Romanov sat me down and explained everything to me."

"Ah," Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Well she's always been a little on the protective side at times, especially when Clint's not around."

"Huh," Tony had to hide a smirk. "Never would've pegged her for a mother hen." His amusement faded as he glanced cautiously at the consultant. "But we're off topic. I am sorry."

Harry shrugged again and offered a half-smile. "No worries. It was just a misunderstanding."

Tony studied the consultant for a moment longer just to verify that the forgiveness was genuine before relaxing, feeling inexplicably relieved that Harry wouldn't hold a grudge against him.

"Well, you can come back to my house sometime," He announced brightly, grinning at the startled expression on Harry's face. "I didn't show you everything in my lab last time. It's the least I can do."

"You don't have to-"

"As an apology," Tony continued. "I insist."

Harry hesitated, looking torn before finally nodding his agreement. "Alright, maybe after this whole mess is over."

"Great!" Tony beamed at him. "And you can meet Pepper. You'll like her. Everyone does."

Harry grinned back, obviously amused, but it was the first genuine smile Tony had managed to get out of him all day so it pleased him a lot moreeeeeeeee than it usually would.

A garbled stream of words interrupted them and Harry raised a hand to his ear.

"Ah," Harry frowned, listening intently. "Alright, alright, I'm going. Keep your hair on. Oh wait, I forgot; you don't have any."

Tony snickered aloud as an annoyed shout came from the earpiece before Harry switched it off and turned to him, a matching smirk no his face.

"That was the Director, obviously," Harry told him, clambering onto the railing. "He wants me to find Loki so I better get going."

"What? Wait, I thought your magic fluctuates or something against his," Tony protested.

"It does," Harry nodded. "But I can get close if I push it and any lead is better than the huge pile of nothing we have at the moment."

"I'll come with you," Tony immediately proposed. "Just let me get my suit on-"

"No," Harry said firmly. "Fury wants you here, and it would probably be better if you stay. You're part of the Avengers now," He reminded with a brief smile.

"So are you!" Tony countered, but knew it wasn't true before the words even left his mouth.

"No I'm not," Harry denied, stepping off the railing and almost giving Tony heart failure until he realized the consultant was floating in the air. "I'm not really part of anything."

And with a last wave, he took off into the air, leaving Tony standing on the balcony and more than a little frustrated that he wouldn't be able to follow.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finished! There's the third meeting; hope it was entertaining.


	4. A People Saving Thing

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter or the Avengers...

-About this fic, I won't be going into Harry's past in great detail so you'll just have to speculate on the how's and where's and when's yourselves.

-I might expand on it one day, especially since it's got a lot of potential to branch out (like a fic about Harry and Steve back in WWII as suggested by a few reviewers), but not anytime soon.

-And no, this fic has nothing to do with my other fics. It's a standalone, people. It doesn't fit into the other timelines.

-This is also not a slash; just friendship.

-Anyway, on to the next chapter. Much shorter than the other ones; this one also takes place in Avengers, near the end. Enjoy!

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4 – A People Saving Thing

Admittedly, the fourth time Tony saw Harry, there hadn't been much time for conversation. In the middle of a full-out war against the Chitauri, there hadn't been much time for anything except fighting.

Still, after that latest encounter, Tony had to wonder if Harry's 'people saving thing' might not be the safest of hobbies in the world, but the consultant hadn't stuck around in the aftermath for Tony to do much more than worry about his health.

~4~4~

After Tony had received word from Fury – who had gotten the information from Harry – that Loki was setting up his new empire in his building, he was just about ready to storm back to Manhattan, guns blazing.

Stark Tower was his, damn it! How dare that power-hungry psychopath decide he had any right to it? Not to mention that Tony felt like a complete idiot for not figuring it out in the first place. The demi-god was a full-tail diva. He would want a monument built to the skies with his name plastered-

Tony cut off that thought, mentally annoyed that he seemed to be drawing parallels between himself and Loki.

So now here they were, the Avengers assembled and kicking ass, differences laid aside for the moment as they all concentrated on getting rid of the threat. Flying above the city, Tony had caught glimpses of Harry flashing in and out of sight and dealing a tremendous amount of damage to the Chitauri with frightening ease. He also noted that the consultant seemed to be staying as far away as possible from Stark Tower and the wormhole, and assumed that the Tesseract's energy wasn't doing any favours for Harry's wellbeing.

"Behind you!" Tony shouted as he shot past Harry on one of his aerial rounds around the buildings. He fired off several missiles at the Chitauri, felling half of the group, and watched in satisfaction as Harry shot off several jets of red light from his hands and downed the other half.

A grateful wave from Harry put a grin on Tony's face as he flew off again, shooting at any enemy in his line of fire. The call that came in seconds later wiped it clean off.

"Stark, you hearing me? We have a missile headed straight for the city."

Mentally swearing in his head, Tony asked, "How long?"

Fury's voice was grim when he spoke again. "Three minutes, at best."

With a grimace, Tony fired off one last shot before taking a sharp turn and veering off in the oncoming missile's direction. Forget the Chitauri; if the missile found its target, there wouldn't even be a Manhattan.

~4~

"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!"

"Do it!"

"No, wait!"

"Stark, these things are still coming!"

"I got a nuke coming in; it's gonna blow in less than a minute," Tony swooped towards the missile, calculating the distance and speed as it rushed towards him. "And I know just where to put it."

Carefully, he flew in next to the missile, thrusters at maximum to keep up with its speed as he grabbed it and began pushing it off-course.

"Mr. Stark, may I ask what you are planning on doing with that missile?" Harry's voice was uncharacteristically sharp as he cut in between Jarvis' warnings.

"It's heading straight for my tower; do you know how long I've spent building it?" Tony quipped as the missile slowly redirected its route under his urging. "Granted, the aliens from outer space and Rock of Ages have already done a number on it but a nuke really isn't good for the decor."

Harry was silent for a long moment as Tony just managed to shove the missile upwards until it was parallel to his tower. He caught sight of the machine and Natasha standing beside it and had the fleeting thought that they got along much better in times of crises than they did any other time.

As he sped towards the wormhole, he heard Jarvis saying something to him and the call dispatched to Pepper terminate, but before he could feel more than a spark of disappointment, movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention and his head snapped to the side as he stared in complete disbelief at the man flying right next to him, unaided and unprotected.

"You-!" Tony didn't know if he was more worried, angry, shocked, or grateful, just that Harry was right there beside him and shooting for the wormhole without an ounce of hesitation in his demeanour, his features as calm as ever.

"Are you crazy?" He finally shouted above the roar of the wind in his ears. "You don't have any sort of protective gear! Even Thor and Loki wouldn't be able to last out in space without magic and yours doesn't work around the cube's energy! Go back!"

But Harry didn't even look at him, his gaze focused ahead. Tony just managed to catch the steely resolve set like stone in Harry's features as he yelled back, "Rather hypocritical of you, Mr. Stark. You realize this is a one-way trip if you go alone?"

"It'll still be a one-way trip if both of us go!" Tony argued, glancing anxiously at the approaching wormhole. "My suit might work for a while longer if- how are you even still flying?"

Tony had seen Harry's magic falter against a direct shot from one of the Chitauri's weapons, narrowly saved by Clint whose arrow had buried itself in the Chitauri's head before it could take another shot at the consultant. To be in such close proximity to the wormhole shouldn't even be possible.

Which was why Tony almost made the missile swerve when he flinched as Harry finally turned to look at him. For the most part, the consultant looked fine, if a little pale, but there was a trickle of blood splashed against his chin, and Tony was sure whatever was wrong with Harry's body was only getting worse as they approached the portal.

"GO BACK!" He bellowed, frustrated helplessness welling up inside him when Harry simply shook his head. Tony actually felt the magic helping Harry fly; it was pouring out of the consultant in waves. "YOU'LL DIE!"

For a split second, Tony could swear he saw an almost manic gleam in those green, green eyes, crazed and terrifying because it wasn't fear he glimpsed in their depths; it was longing.

But the look disappeared as quickly as it came, and Tony would've thought he had imagined it if his heart didn't still feeling like it had stopped. Instead, Harry shook his head with a certain level of grimness as they shot towards the wormhole.

"No I won't," The consultant countered readily, one of his hands suddenly reaching out to clamp around Tony's armoured shoulder. "And neither will you."

And then Tony had no more time to say anything back as they both passed through the portal. He barely noticed himself letting the missile go, all his attention on the struggling movements of Harry's limbs. The consultant seemed to have thrown up some sort of shimmering bubble around both of them though because Tony could still breathe.

This revelation didn't make him as happy as it probably should because, goddammit, Harry was literally coughing up blood.

Tony hastily scrambled over to Harry's side even as the consultant guided them back towards the wormhole. Brought to his knees, he seemed to be choking on every breath and the floor of the bubble was stained with crimson. Tony was usually very level-headed in an emergency but he could barely think as he clutched at Harry's shoulders, running a soothing hand down his back every few seconds and feeling absolutely useless.

"You're gonna be fine," He mumbled as Harry's magic seemed to falter again and they ended up freefalling back through the portal, just in time too as the wormhole snapped shut behind them.

Tony could've collapsed in relief as Jarvis informed him that his thrusters were still very much in working order, and as Harry slumped against him, unconscious, the bubble flickered out around them and Tony, chest tight with worry, carefully flew them both back to the ground.

~4~

"He'll be fine, Stark," Fury said irritably. "How many times do I have to tell you? Potter can't die."

Tony gritted his teeth and tried not punch his sort-of-boss. He looked around and noted the lack of concern on Hill's face as well as the ebbing worry on the rest of the Avengers' features.

Yeah, he knew Harry was immortal; he had lost count of the number of times people had been telling him that, as if he had short-term memory or something. But was he the only one here who realized that just because Harry couldn't die didn't mean he didn't feel pain? The consultant wasn't some unfeeling robot ready for another round after a check-up and a pat on the head.

"Well can I see him then?" Tony snapped, patience thinning as he added to Selvig who was trying to get his attention, "And I'll start on the transportation device for the damn cube when I'm good and ready and not before! ...What?"

The last query was directed at Thor who had been unusually anxious since they had captured Loki again.

"We really do have need for that device," Thor started. "Perhaps you could-"

"You've said that before," Tony cut him off, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Don't tell me you wanna get outta here before Harry's back on his feet." He arched an eyebrow when the demi-god shifted defensively. "Huh, so that's why you people are rushing me. What, not looking forward to Harry's send-off party?"

Thor frowned at him as Selvig glanced nervously between them. "Loki has failed," The demi-god said evasively. "Our father will punish him as he sees fit."

"He almost killed Coulson!" Tony retorted. "He would've too if Harry hadn't been there! And he would've been perfectly happy to see all of us dead if that was what it took to conquer the planet. He's a crazy megalomaniac and don't you dare deny it!" He glared furiously at Thor before scanning the room. Most looked neutral though Tony was gratified to see that Clint at least looked to be in complete agreement.

"...Why do you care so much?" Natasha asked in the resulting silence. "What happened to 'the whole world revolves around me because I'm Tony Stark and everything else is unimportant'?"

Tony's jaw tightened, making a split second decision to ditch his arrogant attitude for a moment as he rounded on the redhead and answered coolly, "As surprising as it may be to you, I do like to think, what with the whole saving the world business, that I actually care whether someone dies or not," He paused and then amended, "Except Loki of course."

He turned back to Fury who was still standing in the doorway with a slightly bemused look on his face. "Now can I please see Harry before I die of old age out here waiting for someone to tell me something concrete?"

Without waiting for consent, Tony pushed past the Director and slipped into the room Harry had been brought into. He stopped short when he found Harry sitting up and looking none the worse for wear, though his features still seemed to be off-colour and he looked completely exhausted. But when Tony stepped into the room, a smile curved the consultant's lips and he looked genuinely happy to the billionaire.

"Heard what you said," Harry nodded at the door and his smile turned into a grin when Tony glanced away with embarrassment. "Thanks."

"What for?" Tony moved into the room, pulling up a chair beside Harry's bed. "I didn't really say anything all that important."

Harry tilted his head in a thoughtful manner. "You worried about me."

Tony scoffed. "Of course I did. Everyone did."

Harry looked amused now. "I'm immortal, Mr. Stark. Once they hear my heart managed to start again, they'll focus on more important matters. You..." He trailed off and a faintly puzzled expression surfaced on his face. "You barely know me. Maybe that's why-"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tony couldn't help the indignant tone his words took on. "You saved my life. Twice. I think that qualifies you as one of my friends by Pepper's standards. I should know; she's been teaching me to be nice. Nicer." He hesitated and then muttered uncomfortably to his hands, "One of my only friends, I mean. I think I have every right to worry."

When Tony looked up again, he thought maybe one of Pepper's lectures had finally stuck.

Harry's expression was radiant.

~4~

In the end, Loki was released into Thor's custody after the newly-healed Coulson had had a long talk with Harry in which he convinced the immortal not to do any additional harm to the demi-god. Not too much anyway.

Harry took this as a go-ahead to deal a bit of extra damage to Loki, and on the day Fury let the demi-god out of his cell, the consultant stalked right up to him and punched him in the nose before anyone could stop him. They all knew the hit had been magic-infused when Loki's nose broke upon impact. Oddly enough, not even Thor protested, shooting his brother a 'you deserved it' look as Harry stormed away.

And life went back to normal.

Clint and Natasha headed back to S.H.I.E.L.D. for their next assignment.

Steve announced his desire to visit his hometown before returning to S.H.I.E.L.D. as well.

Tony finally managed to wrangle Bruce into an agreement to stay at Stark Tower. Unfortunately, he had been just a bit too slow when it came to Harry.

The consultant had received a call from Fury directly after Thor and Loki had left and had told them all in clipped tones that something had come up and he would see them all another time. Before Tony had been able to stop him, Harry had disappeared without so much as a farewell.

If Tony knew just where he would next see Harry again, he would've squeezed the consultant's whereabouts from Fury a lot sooner than he did.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finished! Like I said; a bit shorter this time. Hope you liked it all the same.


	5. The Saviour Saved

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter or the Avengers…

-This is a 5-and-1 fic so there'll be two more chapters before it's over.

-I'm going camping for several days which unfortunately means no updates during that time. (No wifi; torture…)

-Anyway, this chapter takes place after the Avengers obviously. This next bit is entirely mine, an AU so nothing to do with the comics. Enjoy!

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5 – The Saviour Saved

The fifth time Tony saw Harry was by far the worst. It made their second encounter when he had put his foot in his mouth per usual look like a friendly tea party, and he couldn't even claim responsibility for it so he could try to fix it.

As it was, the only thing that meeting managed to do for Tony was reinforce the fact that though immortal Harry may be, he was just as susceptible to danger, just as vulnerable when all his defenses had been torn down, as everyone else was.

He couldn't say he particularly appreciated this revelation.

~5~5~

The second time Tony ever set foot on the Helicarrier again was one and a half years after the whole Loki disaster. It wasn't a social call.

"Where is he?" Tony demanded as soon as he found Fury on the deck. Bruce hovered a little nervously behind him as Clint, Natasha, and Steve stood off to the side, and Thor, who had returned only two months ago on the stubborn insistence that his father had wanted an Asgardian envoy on Earth, was situated in the doorway. Over the course of several months, the entire team had gravitated to Stark Tower and it had now more or less become their headquarters. Whenever Fury had a mission for them, he would simply relay it via video feed, having given up on ordering them back to base before handing out their assignments after Clint and Natasha both failed to actually show up in person for work after the first few weeks.

"Where's who, Mr. Stark?" Fury sighed, looking annoyed as he looked up from a file he had been studying.

"Harry," Tony prompted with a roll of his eyes. "'Bout this tall, green eyes, black hair, has the odd habit of bouncing back from the dead?"

"I know who Harry is," Fury said irritably as he looked down at the sheaf of papers in his hands again, clearly dismissing Tony. "He's on a mission; you already know this."

"Know?" Tony repeated, crossing his arms. "I know he was carrying out an assignment for you somewhere in Alaska. I also know he was due back six months ago. What I don't know and would like to know is why he isn't back yet."

Fury finally snapped the folder shut and pinned Tony with a glare. "How many times have I told you not to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D. databases, Stark?"

"Twenty-one," Tony answered without batting an eye. "So you should really get a clue by now and realize I'm never going to stop. Now are you gonna answer my question or not?"

Fury released a frustrated breath as he surveyed the room. The rest of the Avengers had been silent so far but there was no way anyone could miss the grim determination on each face as they waited for the Director to divulge whatever information he had on the missing consultant.

Fury heaved another sigh, this time with a telltale note of defeat, and Tony smirked triumphantly. He knew it was the right decision when he got the rest of the Avengers worried before bringing them along.

"…Potter was supposed to return six months ago," Fury finally confirmed as the Avengers moved further into the room. "It was also the last time he reported in; he told us that he had completed the mission and would be returning to the States in a few days. Something about enjoying the scenery while he was there," Fury shook his head. "That was the last we heard from him. We've tried contacting him but it's like he's completely dropped off the face of the planet. We've been looking for him ever since."

"And you couldn't have told us this earlier?" Steve demanded from Tony's left, and the billionaire was reminded, with a touch of envy, that Harry had been the Captain's friend first.

"It was supposed to be a simple mission," Fury snapped back. "Information gathering. And Potter's pulled this sort of thing before. Sometimes, he finds something new and goes incognito for another few months before reporting in."

"And what's the longest he's ever been… 'incognito'?" Bruce asked testily.

It was Natasha who answered, frowning at her boss. "Four months. That time he went down to Chile and infiltrated that drug ring."

"Great; so he's two months late and you still think everything's rainbows and sunshine," Tony ignored the rising irritation on Fury's face as he continued. "What was his mission?"

"That's classified," Fury countered automatically.

A beep came from Tony's pocket and the billionaire quickly withdrew his phone. "Not anymore," He announced, scrolling though all the information Jarvis had managed to hack into. It had taken months of carefully digging around so he wouldn't be caught, but his patience had finally paid off and, as a bonus, he had even managed to time it perfectly.

One look at Fury told him the Director was about ready to erupt like Mt. Vesuvius on steroids but Tony had had great experience in dealing with people yelling at him so ignoring the man was fairly easy. Taking in the information he was reading off his phone, not so much.

"Alaska… mountains… caves… what the hell are Jhal'harrat?" Tony glanced up at the Director, tilting his phone so Steve and Bruce, who had both come forward to peer at his phone, could get a better view of the words. He made a mental note to tease the Captain about this later; the super soldier didn't seem particularly bothered by Tony's 'unethical' means now that it was Harry in potential danger.

Fury closed his eye and pinched the bridge of his nose as if warding off a migraine. "Sit down," He finally said before turning to the large computer screens behind him.

"Shortly after you stopped the Chitauri invasion," Fury began, pulling up a map of Alaska. "We picked up another anomaly somewhere up in Canada, and we traced it back until we found out it appeared at the same time the wormhole over Manhattan opened. So, after Loki left with Thor, I asked Potter to do some digging, just in case a few rogue Chitauri somehow jumped over there when the portal opened. From what Potter managed to find out, it seems that when the Tesseract opened a wormhole between the Chitauri's mothership and our world, it also made the fabrics in space a lot thinner during that time.

"The Jhal'harrat," Fury enlarged a picture and Tony's eyes widened at the cloaked figure on the screen. It resembled a human, but it had a skeletal head and red eyes. "From Potter's reports, they're shapeshifters with their own brand of magic. Potter thinks they have telepathic abilities, though they seem to be short-range at best, and mostly require touch. They accidentally slipped through the crack between Earth and wherever they were and crashed into the Alaskan mountains. Luckily, their ship must've had a cloaking device or they'd be splashed all over the Times by now. Either way, their ship is undergoing repairs and since the wormhole closed, they're stuck, and they've been trying to find a way to leave for months, passing off as humans and using whatever energy they can get their hands on," Fury turned to fully face them, the screen blinking black behind him. "And that was the last we heard from Potter."

Dead silence met his explanation. The assembled Avengers had never been so quiet together.

"Right then," Tony rose to his feet, stowing his phone away as he shoved in his chair. "Give me the last known location you have of Harry and I'll take care of the rest."

Fury raised his eyebrows in challenge. "And what are you gonna do? They're hidden away in the mountains of Alaska. Even Potter couldn't give us an exact location, and we can't pinpoint their position either."

Tony offered a cocky smile for the Director. "And that's where you and I differ. I don't do 'can't'. I got myself out of that hellhole in Afghanistan. With some help on Harry's part. A few mountains in Alaska are nothing. I might even stop for a bit of skiing afterwards. So," He glanced pointedly at Fury. "Location."

"I'm coming too," Steve stepped up beside Tony, and a part of the billionaire had to laugh at the utterly bemused look on the Director's face. It wasn't often that he and the Captain presented a united front.

"Me too," Bruce's voice was quiet but brooked no argument. He would not be left out.

"I remain indebted to Harry for sparing Loki," Thor hefted his hammer. "I too will come."

"Us too," Clint said as Natasha nodded. "Gotta get our partner back."

Fury looked from one face to the next. "Do you have any idea how cold it is over there right now?" He enquired dryly. "We've stopped the search parties because it's at least minus forty over there. Layer windchill on top of that and you'll put yourselves on ice before you even get close. At least wait until winter passes-"

"And he might already be dead by then," Steve cut in. "We have to go now."

Another glance told Fury everything he needed to know and he heaved a resigned sigh as he turned back to the screen and pulled up a picture of a white-capped mountain.

"Dress warm," He told them grimly. "You're going to Mt. McKinley. Trust me; it's no vacation spot, especially this time of year."

~5~

Well, Tony thought sardonically. Fury wasn't wrong. This is no vacation spot.

The chill of his surroundings seemed to seep through his suit even though Jarvis has the heating function cranked up to full.

They had arrived yesterday and had been searching for hours. Clint and Natasha commandeered the jet while the rest of them searched on foot or in the air. But even Bruce and Thor had looked more than a little grateful when a break was called and they could get some rest and warm up in the aircraft.

"Anything, Stark?" Steve's voice cut into Tony's thoughts.

"Would I still be freezing my balls off if I found something?" Tony shot back, but it was half-hearted at best. He had been circling above what looked like a cave for a while now. Normally, he would fly closer for a better look but there was something a little off about it that made him keep his distance.

Swerving to the right, he thought he saw a shimmer at the entrance but it disappeared as soon as he blinked. There wasn't anything particularly different about it now. The snow still swirled at the mouth of the cave, slowly adding another layer to the ground. Hesitantly, he scooped up some snow, packing it tightly together before hurling it at the entrance.

He ducked just in time.

"Whoa!" Tony twisted out of the way as the shimmer instantly flashed into existence and a beam of sickly yellow light hurtled back at him, missing him by inches.

"Stark, are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine," He dusted some snow off his armour. "Better than fine. I found a way in. Sort of."

"… What do you mean 'sort of'?"

~5~

"This isn't 'sort of', Stark," Steve bit out. "This isn't a way in, period."

"Well did you find anything?" Tony retorted crossly. "At least now we know they're hidden in there somewhere."

"If you two could shut up for five minutes, maybe we can figure out a way to get in," Natasha interrupted, glaring at them from behind her goggles.

Bruce, who had temporarily changed back to human form, peered at the nearly invisible force field. "There's no way we can get in without being noticed."

"So we go in guns blazing?" Tony's shoulder armour rose to reveal several missiles all pointed at the entrance. "Excellent. My favorite kind of plan."

"Stark, no-!" Steve grabbed his arm but Tony had already fired, the missiles making a beeline for the cave.

The resulting explosion had them all diving for cover as the ground shook and the force field retaliated with wild bursts of yellow beams.

"YOU IDIOT!" Steve bellowed above the detonations all around them. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?"

Tony didn't bother flipping up his helmet as he invaded the Captain's personal space, the metal of his suit mere inches from the super soldier's face. "There is no other way to get Harry out," He said in a harsh cutting tone. "So we might as well stop wasting our time talking about how impossible getting in is and just do it," He shoved Steve away a few steps as the shield began to falter, flickering in and out of existence as the beams it was still shooting became more irregular.

"You don't know what it's like to be captured and locked away," Tony continued coolly. "Harry's been in there long enough. I'm getting him out of there one way or another, even if I have to get rid of every Jhal'harrat who gets in my way."

And as the force field finally dissipated with a hiss, Tony launched himself at the cave without waiting for a reply, attention focused entirely ahead.

Behind him, Bruce immediately transformed, the Hulk ripping through the jacket he had been wearing before charging off after Tony, Thor at his heels.

"Well, I suppose we better go too," Natasha pulled out her guns as Clint notched an arrow to his bow.

Steve only sighed and readied his shield. "Really should've seen this coming."

~5~

The entire team eventually found its way to a large cavern, several tunnels branching off and leading further into the mountain. All six almost jumped out of their as a figure made itself known, scuttling out of one of the tunnels, and they all swung around with their weapons raised.

It turned out to be a human.

"Are you here to rescue us?" The man whispered, freckles standing out in his face. He had fiery red hair and blue eyes, a long nose and a somewhat lanky frame.

"You're a captive?" Natasha asked warily, lowering her guns but not putting them away. "There are more of you?"

The man nodded, stepping forward nervously as he kept one eye on Bruce's looming form. "A few of us, yeah. Wait," He glanced back at the tunnel and gestured with one hand. Slowly, a woman with curly brown hair, another girl with red hair, and another man bringing up the rear, slightly round-faced but broad-shouldered, appeared.

"They caught us but we managed to escape," The red-haired man said, licking his lips anxiously. "Can- Can you get us out? All of us? We can lead you to the others."

The Avengers all exchanged looks before Steve stepped forward. "Of course," He nodded. "But could you tell us if they have a man with black hair and green eyes?"

The redhead's eyes brightened as he nodded. "Yeah, there's someone like that. Dunno his name though."

Tony couldn't help the relief that coursed through him at this news but he caught Clint and Natasha sharing narrow-eyed looks with each other out of the corner of his eye.

"Great, we originally came here looking for him," Steve revealed, shifting his shield. "But we'll get the rest of you out as well. I'm Steve. These are my colleagues. Who are you?"

"Ronald," The redhead replied before gesturing at the other three. "This is Hermione, Neville, and Ginny, my younger sister. We've still got a few friends back there. You'll really help them?"

"Definitely," The Captain hesitated. "But we can find our own way. I'm sure you wanna get outta here as soon as possible."

The redhead shook his head hastily. "No, we need to go back for our friends. We can get you there faster."

"Oh, well then…" Steve trailed off, glancing at Natasha and Clint. Obviously, he was better at open combat than infiltration.

"Lead the way," Natasha said smoothly. "But do what we tell you to if we bump into any danger, okay?"

All four of them nodded before they turned and began to walk back the way they had come, leading the Avengers down a sloping tunnel.

As they walked, Tony dropped back beside Clint. "What were you two talking about?" He muttered in a low enough voice that no one else would hear.

Clint glanced briefly at their guides before murmuring back, "What are the odds that four Brits just happen to be captured in Alaska of all places?"

Tony frowned. "Could be here on vacation," He pointed out.

Clint shrugged. "Could be. Seems strange, that's all. And the red-haired woman is Ronald's sister. What kind of a brother would allow his own younger sister right back into the hands of their captives?"

"Maybe they just don't want to be separated," Tony didn't particularly like putting holes in Clint's theories because something about their guides struck him as a little odd as well, but it had to be said.

Clint just nodded at the former captives. "Then what about the fact that they're too relaxed? They're speech patterns match a captive's fear but their postures don't. Maybe they are worrying about their friends, but no prisoner would be hurrying back like that. They're no hostages. I'm willing to stake my life on it."

Tony glanced briefly at Clint before nodding curtly and scooting around to the other Avengers to warn them. None of them seemed too surprised and the Hulk even thumped a fist over his heart once and grunted, "Three heart." This was, luckily enough, covered by Thor who just happened to sneeze when some loose debris showered them from above.

Tony slipped back to the forefront of the group, thrusters ready. He didn't care if they were aliens who accidentally landed on Earth. They had Harry, and that was enough for Tony to label them as the enemy.

~5~

In the end, the rescue wasn't actually particularly hard. They had a man in a suit of very technologically-advanced armour, two assassins, a demi-god, a super soldier, and a Hulk. Add the fact that they were expecting an attack and knew how to work together – for the most part – in battle, and the several hundred Jhal'harrat found themselves hopelessly outmatched.

No, the hard part was what they saw when they entered what looked like the main cavern.

Bound and hooked up to some weird-looking device that was attached to an even weirder-looking ship was Harry.

Except he didn't look like Harry. The consultant was literally hanging lifelessly in the shackles that held him up and any colour in his skin had long since fled, leaving the man pale and lifeless. His clothes hung off his starved frame and his hair had grown out, hanging past his shoulder blades now. There was also a pale green glow around him, and it took Tony half a second to trace a golden thread-like beam of energy from Harry's chest to the device to the ship.

The goddamn alien bastards were using Harry as an energy source.

Tony saw red. He wasn't the only one.

The battle was short-lived and almost a bloodbath. The Avengers still had the presence of mind to not kill off every single Jhal'harrat, just the ones that were attacking them, and it took all of ten minutes to pound it into their heads that they could not win before the aliens fled down the tunnels, heading deeper into the mountains.

It took Tony and a de-Hulked Bruce several hours to detach Harry from the machine because it turned out that the shackles around the consultant's wrists had some type of magic-suppressing needles that literally stabbed into him. The trails of blood, still dripping down his arms even after six months, threatened to make Tony lose the lunch he had eaten only a few hours earlier.

"I don't get it," Natasha said in a hushed voice as they finally made it back to the jet after Thor had sealed the entrance with one blow of his hammer at its structure. They had no time to check for more openings but they had called Fury who had told them to come home and that he would send another team in their place to take care of the Jhal'harrat. For once, nobody argued.

"Don't get what?" Bruce asked from where he was sitting by the exam table Harry was lying on, still as death. If it wasn't for the slight rise and fall of his chest and the gut-wrenching rasp he made every time he drew in a breath, they would've thought the immortal had finally been beat.

"Harry's strong, really strong," Natasha reminded. "There's no way the Jhal'harrat could've gotten their hands on him, even if they came at him altogether."

"Maybe it has something to do with those four Brits they shapeshifted into," Tony suggested, voice soft as he cleaning the blood from Harry's right arm and began bandaging it. "They had to get those forms from somewhere, right? Might as well be from Harry's memories. They're telepathic, aren't they?"

"That could be it," Bruce agreed, smoothing out the bandages on Harry's left wrist. "What happened to them anyway? I lost track of them in the battle."

"I got them," Tony said shortly, an edge of dark satisfaction underlying his words. "They had no right changing into those people."

"You killed them because you thought they invaded Harry's mind?" Steve frowned.

Tony shot him a glare. "Would it help if I said they tried to kill me?"

Steve arched an eyebrow at him. "Do you hear me complaining? You seem to forget Harry's just as much my friend as he is yours," The maybe more went unsaid but still heard. "I'm just saying," The Captain continued before Tony could snap at him. "You should probably not mention that in front of the Director."

Tony eyed him suspiciously for a moment before deciding it was too much of a hassle to argue any longer. "Wasn't going to," He said instead, turning his attention back on Harry.

The rest of the flight was silent, only punctuated by Harry's struggling breaths as they transported the consultant home.

~5~

It was another two months before Harry finally woke from his coma. On a twenty-four-hour watch, they had managed to figure out that the consultant had been so magically drained and constantly so for six months that it had taken him quite a while to regain enough strength to even wake up.

When he did, the tired faces of the Avengers were the first things he saw.

The hoarse request for water had all of them slumping with relief as Clint ran off for a glass and Natasha dropped her cold demeanour for a moment to wrap Harry in a tight hug.

It was still too soon though, and after a few sips of water, Harry dropped right back to sleep. But his temporary consciousness seemed to alleviate some of the Avengers' fears and they slowly returned to their usual schedule, ducking into the bedroom Tony had set aside for Harry long before the consultant had returned from time to time.

All except Tony.

It was pretty stupid, all things considered; Tony could admit this. But he had never had many friends and protecting himself had always seemed the most important, simply because it was the hardest to do. Pepper wasn't in danger most of the time, Rhodey could take care of himself, and even Happy had some experience with boxing if some fool ever tried to break into one of the chauffeur's cars. And the rest of the Avengers could definitely handle any danger thrown their way.

But Harry was different. Tony didn't know why – of all the people he had to invest his concern in, it was the one who couldn't die; he could definitely see the irony – but he worried about the consultant a hell of a lot more than he worried about himself.

He thought back to the flash of longing he had seen in the immortal's eyes, the very clear and very frightening desire to die, and thought perhaps that that might be why. If Harry didn't want to live, then Tony would just have to give him a reason, show him that life was still worth living even after so many years.

Tony was very good at living after all.

~5~

"But where are you going?" Tony asked for the third time as Harry drew on a new sweater, movements still a little shaky from his ordeal. The rest of the Avengers had gathered in the room, silent and still slightly shocked at Harry's decision.

It was another two months since Harry had first woken up and the consultant had insisted on taking off to God-only-knew-where almost immediately.

"Everywhere," Harry said, waving a vague hand in the air. "I just need to move about for a bit. I need some space."

"You can have all the space you want here," Tony persisted. "Stark Tower is so big you could get lost in here for hours. Just ask the Captain; he really did get lost."

Steve sent a mildly annoyed look at Tony but didn't argue otherwise. Anything that might make Harry stay was a good thing.

Harry finally straightened and turned to look at all of them. "Look, I know this is short notice but-" He released a deep sigh, still looking ridiculously small in his clothes. "I just need to get some air. Some… memories were brought up and I just want to clear my head before I come back."

His eyes flickered around the room again before settling on Tony. "I know I already said this, but thank you for coming after me. I wasn't… well, I wasn't expecting a rescue so it came as a pleasant surprise. I'm not sure how I would've gotten out of that situation otherwise."

"You saved us plenty of times," Bruce pointed out with a shadow of a smile. "Besides, we're a team. We couldn't leave you there."

Harry looked taken aback for a moment before his features melted into a small but genuine smile. "Thanks," He said again, and then picked up his bag.

"You'll come back?" Tony knew defeat when he saw it and settled for a promise instead.

Harry paused and looked back at him. His eyes were distant but he nodded firmly, once.

"I'll come back."

And then he was gone, a whisper of his clothing being the only sound he made as he disappeared from sight.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finished! Hope that entertains you for a while since this will be the last update for the next four days.


End file.
